Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc Review

Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc delivers exactly what you’d want from a Chainsaw Man movie

If you want to watch a movie that has good action and some ridiculous violence, Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc is worth a watch.

Oh, and it’s quite emotional as well.

Good Points

• Stunning animation throughout

• Denji and Reze’s relationship is engaging

• Fantastic balance between action and quieter character moments

• Excellent pacing with very little wasted time

• Emotional payoff lands

• Strong visual storytelling and symbolism

• Soundtrack elevates key scenes perfectly

• Fight scenes

Bad Points

• Some story details may confuse newcomers

• A few plot developments are fairly predictable

• Denji’s immaturity occasionally undercuts emotional scenes

My Thoughts on Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc

The relationship is what it is all about

I do like it when a movie surprisingly gets me in the feels, and Reze Arc did that, as it spent far more time building a connection for the audience between Denji and Reze than I initially expected, and that was the right decision to make, because it’s the quieter scenes here that ended up being some of my favourites in the entire movie.

Nothing overly dramatic either, as they just hang out, talking, laughing, and trying to enjoy small moments together, with a simplicty that is engaging, and once the movie starts turning everything upside down, those earlier scenes suddenly carry a lot more weight.

You really find yourself getting invested in their relationship much faster than you might expect, which is exactly why the emotional side of the story works so very very well.

Denji finally feels like more than the joke

I’ve always liked Denji, because he’s funny, completely unfiltered, and usually one bad decision away from disaster, but Reze Arc gives him something the series occasionally struggled with - vulnerability.

For once, his obsession with finding happiness doesn’t just feel like a punchline, because you actually get to see why he’s so desperate for connection in the first place, so underneath all the stupidity and crude jokes, well see somebody who has spent most of his life being treated like a tool.

The movie doesn’t suddenly turn him into a deep philosopher or anything ridiculous like that though, as he’s also still just Denji - still an idiot sometimes - but there’s certainly more emotional depth here than usual.

The animation is absolutely ridiculous

In the best possible way.

There were multiple moments where I just sat there thinking, “How does this look this good” - every action scene feels enormous, and the movement is so fluid, the impacts have weight, and the cinematography constantly finds ways to make things feel bigger without becoming visually messy.

A lot of modern action-heavy anime can become difficult to follow once everything starts moving at maximum speed I find, but Reze Arc never really has that problem, as even during the biggest sequences, you always know where characters were, what was happening, and why it mattered.

But, some of my favourite scenes didn’t actually involve fighting at all, because as mentioned above, they’re the quieter moment, the moments where Denji and Reze are simply enjoying each other’s company, and this movie understands something a lot of action films forget - the action only works if you care about what happens between the action.

Because when things finally explode later, both literally and emotionally, there’s actual investment behind it, so you aren’t just watching characters punch each other, you’re watching relationships break apart, trust get tested, and you’re watching people realise they wanted something they probably can’t have.

Reze is also a fantastic character

Reze could have easily become a cliché here - the mysterious girl and the love interest, the character who exists purely to motivate the main character - but thankfully, the film gives her far more personality than that, as there’s a warmth to her that makes the relationship work, but there’s also something slightly unpredictable sitting underneath everything, so you never feel completely comfortable.

Even during the happiest moments, the movie had a habit of quietly reminding you that something isn’t quite right, so that tension hangs over the entire relationship, and it keeps you invested because you’re constantly trying to figure out where everything is heading.

The soundtrack knows exactly when to step in

Music can absolutely ruin emotional scenes if it’s overused, I have seen it many times, but that’s not really a problem here, as the score does a great job supporting the mood without constantly screaming at the audience about how they’re supposed to feel.

There are definitely moments where it leans heavily into the drama, but I didn’t mind to too much, as I felt the film had earned it, and it enhanced the emotion rather than replacing it.

The movie does have a few small issues though, even though overall I thought it was excellent, but if you’ve never watched Chainsaw Man before, certain story details and character relationships might feel a little underexplained, because the film clearly expects audiences to already know the world and the people in it, which I do totally understand, but some background would have been nice for people too.

There are also a few plot developments that aren’t particularly difficult to predict, and I certainly saw a couple of major turns coming before they happened, and while I love Denji as a character, there are moments where his usual antics slightly undermine scenes that are trying to hit emotionally.

Still, these are fairly minor complaints compared to everything else the movie gets right.

Final Verdict

Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc simply delivers exactly what you’d want from a Chainsaw Man movie - great action, incredible animation, dark humour, and also, maybe more surprisingly, a lot of heart.

Funny, violent, heartbreaking, and occasionally devastating.

Trailer

Directed by - Tatsuya Yoshihara

Screenplay by - Hiroshi Seko

Cast includes - Kikunosuke Toya, Reina Ueda, Fairouz Ai, Tomori Kusunoki and Shogo Sakata

Cinematography by - Teppei Ito

Edited by - Masato Yoshitake

Music by - Kensuke Ushio

Running time - 100 minutes